The present invention relates to a device and method for storing, mixing and dispensing components, comprising means for mixing a first component with a second, liquid component and for dispensing the mixture, according to the preambles of claims 1 and 15. The first component may be a powdery, granular, or porous bone replacement material or bone cement or a similar material for use in medicine or dentistry.
Devices according to the preamble of claim 1 are available on the market and generally comprise a container in which the powdery material is stored and to which the liquid component is added, the components being subsequently mixed and the mixture being dispensed by means of a piston.
The locally separated storage of at least two components may add complexity to stockkeeping and make the admixture of the smaller, liquid component problematic, e.g. due to confusion.
Further devices where the components are stored separately are known in the art, the smaller, liquid component being e.g. stored behind the piston or thrust rod of the chamber for the larger, powdery component. Arrangements of this kind generally comprise a valve that is arranged between the components and through which the liquid component may be supplied to the powdery component. The disadvantage of this solution is that no controllable transfer of the components is possible. U.S. Pat. No. 3,370,754 may be cited as an example standing for a number of references regarding this prior art.
A set for preparing and applying a tissue adhesive is known from EP-0 292 472, where in each case four syringe bodies are combined in pairs via a coupling member to form a respective unit. The coupling member comprises respective cones for receiving corresponding conical portions on the syringes. The reference only discloses a connection between two adjacent syringes, however without a valve arrangement, so that the possible applications are limited.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,402,364 discloses a dispenser for colored cosmetic compositions where a centrally arranged syringe is arranged to aspirate colors from one or another adjacent container via a screw lid having a channel in order to mix and dispense them. Such an arrangement is unsuitable for the medical field.
WO 00 35506 discloses a container for a powder and a container for a liquid for the preparation of bone cement where a coupling for vacuum is necessarily required, the connection between the two containers being basically always open and the container for the liquid being opened just before the mixing operation. However, selectively establishing a connection between the containers is not possible.
On the background of this prior art, it is the object of the present invention to provide a device and a method for storing, mixing, and dispensing components, more particularly powdery, granular, porous and liquid materials that allows a simple handling and arrangement of the containers while the components are fully separated during storage, and a simple control of the introduction of the second, liquid component into the first component, and that offers a wide range of applications such as external aspiration or introduction of a liquid into the dispensing device. The device attaining this object is defined in claims 1 and 15.